Christmas may be a while away, but the cheer and spirit has begin warming the cockles of our hearts already, and thank goodness for that. One such example of the X-mas spirit is this generous offer by a Muslim-owned restaurant in London, which is offering free meals to homeless and elderly people on Christmas Day. The reason? So that “no one eats alone”.

Shish Restaurant, in Sidcup, has put up fliers and shared the message on various social media platforms in a bid to spread the word. The posters say, “We are here to sit with you” on 25 December. The restaurant owners have also been regularly tweeting, asking people to share the information on social media, a gesture that has been highly praised all across. One such tweet reads, “Please share this around and get the news forward to anyone that is in need/elderly/ homeless.”

According to reports, the three-course meal will include a soup and cacik (a yogurt-based dip) as starters, chicken or vegetarian casserole or chicken shish for the main meal and rice pudding as dessert.

People across social media have widely praised this initiative. “Really inspirational and great thing to do! I’ll definitely visit if I get the opportunity to!” tweeted Ricky Taing, while another hoped the idea would be replicated elsewhere as well. “(W)hat a wonderful idea! #xmas2016 #xmaslunch hope one of my local restaurants do this” said Rukhsana K on Twitter.